How to
Buy Tea
Which tea should you buy? How
can you tell if it's a good tea or a bad tea?
These are just guidelines, not hard and fast rules.
The best tea you can buy is the one you enjoy
the most, and only you can determine that by trying
new varieties and different methods. It's an exciting
journey!
Appreciating fine tea is very
similar to gaining an understanding about fine
wine. Tea is grown in many countries across the
world, but, as with wine, environmental conditions
such as climate, soil, humidity and sunlight effect
the types of tea which are best suited to the
location, the quality of the tea that is produced,
and, of course, the price. Another similarity
to wine is that different harvests give varying
results depending on the weather. Certain years
are considered "good" years, and each
harvest will produce slightly different nuances.
The very best teas are grown in a few select locations
with a unique combination of environmental factors
and the great skills that farmers, pickers and
tea masters have learnt over many generations.
It figures that if the most expensive
teas are exclusively from the best growing areas
in the world, the cheapest teas are from less
favorable locations, mass produced and machine
harvested. There is a great deal of variation
from the worst tea to the best tea, but there
is a pretty clear demarcation line - almost without
exception, loose leaf teas are of far superior
quality to the tea found in teabags.
Buying teabags
It is possible to get good grade
tea in teabags, but loose leaf will always be
superior. Teabags were invented as a way for the
tea industry to market what is known as the "dust
and fannings", the by-product of loose leaf
tea production. Nowadays, these tiny particles
are usually mixed with mass-produced tea that
is finely cut to fit in the bags and release flavor
quickly. Tea from different countries of origin
are blended to produce consistent results. However,
cutting the leaves releases the bitterness of
the leaf as well. This, and the fact that poor
quality teas are usually used, was the original
reason that milk and sugar, and a variety of fruits,
herbs and spices were taken with tea.
Whilst the modern tea industry
still uses lower quality tea for teabags, and
for mixing with fruits, herbs and other flavorings,
the world has grown to love the many delicious
flavors that have been added to tea, and if the
flavors mask the poor tea taste, then the beverage
is still beneficial and very enjoyable.
Many teabag manufacturers don't
even tell you the country of origin, let alone
the style of tea, which is determined by the region
or farm the product is from and the methods used
to produce it. Some teabag tea comes from respectable
areas in China, Sri Lanka and India, but manufacturers
may be reluctant to mention the less favorable
countries of origin, or that tea from several
areas have been blended to produce a particular,
regular taste. Some manufacturers concentrate
on the less informed market and possible don't
think their customers want to know where the tea
comes from. (which is the vast majority of tea
drinkers, but a majority which is shrinking as
tea fans rapidly gain more interest and knowledge
of the product).
If the manufacturer tells you
the tea comes from Darjeeling in India or is a
blend of Dimbula Ceylon and Chinese Keemun black
teas, then you have a base to go from. Without
the ability to judge on origin or style, it's
largely up to you to determine which teabags are
your favorites by trying as many as possible.
The best teabags we've found
are at Generation
Tea, who use their excellent organic loose
leaf teas to make teabags of real character and
quality.
Teabags are undoubtably convenient
and are more readily available, but we wholeheartedly
suggest trying loose leaf teas. They really are
very easy to handle and the rewards for a tiny
bit of extra effort are well worth it.
How to buy loose leaf tea online
You should bear in mind that
you will always have to trust retailers and producers
on the internet to give you reliable, accurate
information. Most do - some don't! It makes so
much difference to be able to actually see and
smell the tea, and, ideally, to taste it before
you buy it, especially if it is an expensive tea.
Conversely, it is also possible
to buy some of the world's very finest teas online.
So before we give our guidelines to tasting and
smelling tea, here are some things you can be
aware of when buying 'blind':
Many of the product images of
tea you see online are carefully contrived - with
photographers and art directors setting up tantalizing
shots and picking out the best leaves and buds
with tweezers. Carefully looking at these leaves
will give you some indication, but don't be fooled
by a fancy production if the supporting information
doesn't back up the claims.
Tea is subject to a great deal
of misinformation, mislabeling and a certain amount
of 'Chinese Whsipers' as it gets passed from one
merchant to the next. It is sometimes the case
that the retailer is selling the tea in good faith,
but has been misled somewhere along the chain,
and the tea is not really the grade that the retailer,
and therefore the consumer, thinks it is. If the
retailer buys directly from the farms, or has
a reputation for obtaining top quality tea, you
will generally fare better.
The retailer that can guarantee
where the tea has come from, especially if it
is more accurate than just a country or a vague
region, obviously knows their tea and can be better
relied on to get quality tea. If the origin is
uncertain, then it's a fair bet that the retailer
doesn't know for sure where the product originated.
Our favorite online loose leaf
tea retailer is Generation
Tea - excellent quality from guys who really
know their tea. Not the most fancy website or
product photos, but really great, solid, dependable
products. Adagio
is another big favorite of ours, especially their
fantastic tea wares, and for bulk orders Frontier
is a very good supplier.
We hope this will give you some
way to evaluate the teas you buy on line.
How to buy loose leaf tea you
can see, smell, touch and taste
Tea has always failed to be graded
in any kind of objective way, especially good
quality tea. There are thousands of great teas
to be discovered, and the best way to learn about
tea is to experience it.
Four ways to judge tea...
1) By the look
The shape of the leaf, and the color. The shape
varies for different kinds of tea. The unbroken
tea leaf is always preferable, whether it is leaf
or bud. Bitterness comes from broken leaves. Broken
leaves are also a sign of machine-harvested tea.
Keep in mind, however, that some tea, especially
some black tea, is cut to provide for stronger
tasting tea. Also, many oolongs are deliberately
'bruised' or abraded to give flavor and improve
appearance.
The dry leaves and wet leaves
should be examined - wet leaves when they are
fully opened. There is a lot to be learned from
the wet leaf. How the leaf was oxidized is evident.
The are many colors of dry green tea and the way
it has been processed can be seen in the color.
For example, hand fired leaves will be a little
bit yellow, steamed tea has the look of a leafy
green vegetable, like spinach, and baked green
tea will be a very dark green. Upon brewing the
tea it should become close to the color it was
when it was picked. Age will affect the color
of the tea water, causing it to be brown or very
murky green. The color of black tea water should
be bright reddish gold and should leave a ring
in the cup. The dry tea leaves from dark fermented
oolong, like WuYi Mountain and Dan Cong (Phoenix
Mountain) oolongs are a dark green/brown color;
tieguanyin oolongs should be bright to dark green.
Anxi oolongs are lighter than Taiwan oolongs.
Good green teas in general are smaller, more delicate
buds and leaf, and oolongs are a bigger leaf where
the 'created' edge is obvious.
2) By the smell
Generally, there are two smells to consider, the
dry smell and the wet smell. The dry smell should
be obvious. If there is no smell to the dry leaves
they are very suspect. Green tea should have a
light, fresh, soothing fragrance, from a light
orchid to a chestnutty smell. Black tea should
have a sweet, floral fragrance, and the smell
should not be easily lost. The aroma of dry Oolongs
can range from peach to Osmanthus flowers, whilst
the smell of Tieguanyin should remind you of sweet
corn. In judging scented tea (such as Jasmine),
the smell should be maintained over multiple infusions.
If a scented tea loses it's smell quickly, the
quality is poor. It should be remembered that
the fragrance of a tea is just as important in
judging a tea as its taste.
3) By touch
Through touch you can determine if the tea leaves
are smooth or coarse, whether or not it crumbles
easily, and whether it is heavy or light. A good
green tea feels smooth, not coarse, and the wet
leaves should be tender. Tieguanyin should be
heavy and dense. Wet Tieguanyin tea leaves should
be tender, almost like silk, but also sturdy.
Whatever the tea, it should not crumble easily;
if it does, it has been baked too long or is too
old.
4) By the taste
The best way to judge a tea, of course, is by
the taste. Green tea should taste fresh, not stale,
and should not be too astringent. Black tea should
be full bodied and fresh. In general, good tea
has a sweet aftertaste and should feel very slippery
going down the throat. The aftertaste should linger.
Some teas can provide a very interesting taste
by sipping some water while the aftertaste is
present, the effect being quite dramatic. Tasting
tea is like tasting wine. Slurp it to aerate it
- unlike in Western countries, in Asia, the home
of tea, slurping is a sign of appreciation and
knowledge and not considered bad manners! Let
it slide down the middle of the tongue in one
sip, and down the sides of the tongue in the next,
followed by the whole tongue with a big slurp.
Pay attention to the subtleties and the complexity
of the tea. A large part of learning to appreciate
tea is learning to slow down and pay attention
to the details.
We hope that these rough guidelines will
have helped you enhance your tea experience.
But, as we always say, it is really up to you.
The best teas are the ones you enjoy drinking
the most. And the only way to find those teas
is by trying as many as possible. The world
of tea is an exciting place to explore and we're
glad to be a part of your journey. Take a look
at our other subjects in the Tea Info Zone below...
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The
History of Tea
